Maryland County Becomes First in Region to Accept Mobile IDs for Alcohol Purchases

Montgomery County’s Alcohol Beverage Services (ABS) is launching a pilot program to accept mobile IDs for age verification at its Westbard retail store beginning February 5, marking the first government-run alcohol distribution system in the region to implement digital ID verification for alcohol purchases. The initiative follows similar programs in New York State, where mobile digital IDs are already accepted for age verification at bars and restaurants.

The program will debut with a kick-off event at 10 a.m. on February 5 at the Westbard Oak Barrel & Vine store in Bethesda, where officials will demonstrate the Mobile ID Check by MD app. During the event, the first customer will complete a transaction using a Maryland mobile ID to verify their age for an alcohol purchase.

The Maryland Mobile ID program, which has been in operation since 2022, supports digital IDs through Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, and Samsung Wallet. Over 250,000 Maryland residents have digitized their driver’s licenses or state IDs since the program’s inception. The system complies with the ISO/IEC 18013 standard, ensuring interoperability and security in mobile ID verification.

Currently, Maryland Mobile ID is accepted at select Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints and certain restaurants within Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. This aligns with the TSA’s broader digital transformation efforts to modernize identity verification at security checkpoints. The Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) recently introduced the Mobile ID Check by MD app, enabling businesses to verify age using mobile driver’s licenses without requiring additional hardware.

Following the evaluation of this pilot program, ABS may expand mobile ID acceptance across all 27 of its retail locations throughout Montgomery County. The expansion would follow a growing national trend, as recent surveys indicate strong public interest in digital driver’s license services and mobile ID verification options.

Source: Montgomery Community Media

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January 31, 2025 – by Ji-seo Kim

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